And the final part of the article from www.msnbc.msn.com :

Three years later, on Sept. 14, 2000, Kalenda served as surrogate again to the Adziches, this time delivering twins -- Anika Stephanie, a girl, and Dominick, a boy.

The gift of life Today, the Adzich children, now ages 6 and 9, call Kalenda their "fairy godmother." Kathy sends Kalenda flowers or other gifts on her children's birthdays.

"Stephanie has been spectacular through this entire process. It’s very important to her that we have our own family unit and it’s important to her that she has her own family unit," Kathy said.

The emotional journey... more

Continued article from www.msnbc.msn.com :

Saying goodbye again During her third pregnancy, doctors sewed her cervix shut and confined her to bed rest in order to prevent premature labor. When she started having contractions at 19 or 20 weeks, she was hospitalized and prescribed drugs to stave off labor. After about a month, on June 15, 1996, Kathy gave birth to a boy the couple named Jakob.

But Jakob’s lungs were too underdeveloped, and the baby died in her arms a few weeks later.

Staff at the hospital in Santa Clara allowed Kathy to spend two days with the dead baby in a hospital room while she grieved –- a... more

Just in case you missed the show this morning, here is the article from www.msnbc.msn.com:

Labor of love After losing three babies, Kathy and Rob Adzich were able to have three children with the help of a surrogate, a woman who had been a stranger

• Couple builds a family, after losses Oct. 12: "Today" host Meredith Vieira talks with Kathy and Rob Adzich about coping with their newborn babies' deaths and Stephanie Kalenda who become a surrogate mom for the couple. Today Show Parenting

By MSNBC.com and Today Updated: 26 minutes ago Many couples struggle with the challenges... more

Hello All,

I don't check my adoptionblogs email every day, but I sure am glad that I checked it in time to pass this on for us all to see. I am reprinting a letter that I got today regarding a segment on Surrogate couples, airing tomorrow morning on the Today show. Grace's ending comments about hopefully showcasing other infertility issues that couples deal with is very encouraging. I feel that the more exposure and information sharing we can do, can help with the outcomes of infertility and pregnancy loss. Please check it out.

Hi Karianne

The Today Show is airing a short documentary tomorrow (thursday, October 12th, 8:09 AM) about surrogate... more

I subscribe to a health enewsletter that brings me some pretty great articles on different subjects. My dad struggled with stopping smoking and he was sure that was what had "done him in". In the most recent article that I read from www.lifescript.com had to do with the reasons why you should stop smoking. I think that everyone knows this, but the letter listed the top ten reasons to stop smoking.

Involved in the newsletter where some statements about fertility and pregnancy and parenting being in their top ten.

6. You Risk Infertility It has long been known that male smokers generally have a low sperm count, but... more

Since starting this blog, I've felt a little bit under qualified in the infertility treatment arena since this wasn't in my personal experience. I can tell you about miscarriage, difficulty getting and staying pregnant in my case, but not about infertility doctors and medical treatments. We were lucky enough to get pregnant without medical intervention and I often think that if we do try for another biological child, given my age now, I think that we would have a different story. I often think that another woman who has been through the maze of meds and treatments... more

I'm in a waiting game with myself this week. Kind of dealing with my grief in all areas again as my dad's birthday is on Wednesday and it is hitting me pretty hard. I know that this will take an upward swing again, but waiting for the upward pull while experiencing the downward pull is slow going. I decided to look into ways to help with the wait and came across this page of adivice from Resolve. Although I'm not waiting for results from IVF, the suggestions sound pretty wise to me.

Emotional Coping Strategies

Limit the number of people you tell about your cycle and let them know how... more

According to a study that is quoted at www.lifescript.com, a first time father's age has a correlation to the health outcome of his baby, if the man is over 40 years old.

According to research published in a recent issue of the journal Epidemiology, babies born to middle-aged dads are more likely to experience weakened health than babies born to men in their 20s. Danish researchers looked at data from more than 70,000 live births between 1980 and 1996. Their results indicated that first-time fathers between 45-49 years of age were more likely to have infants who suffered from weakened heart rate and respiration, poor reflexes, and... more

I was reading an old post today in the blog DI Dad. He is the father to two children that were conceived using a donor. His site brought my attention to the post that I wrote yesterday. As I was catching up with my reading, which in this case, I decided to go from current to past posts, I read about a question that he posted to his readers. Here goes:

Terminology request: I am getting tired of writing "the mom of my kids' half sibling". Is there an anacronym (misp?) out there that has ben created for this purpose already? I don't want to use her real name and making up a pseudonym seems funny as readers will say "who is that?". Amazing how science also affects... more

I decided this week to devote a little bit of time to dads and dads-to-be. I thought that I would do some blog reading on infertility from the male perspective. I couldn't find one during the small amount of searching that I did. I did find a really interesting article from a dad who suffered with his wife through their infertility woes and then go on to have a daughter and then some!

"Life to Music" by Mark Stackpole www.DadsToday.com

Anyway, I'm laughing my you know what off after reading this piece. He talks about his... more